Alone
by Kori Bealuvd
Summary: Something is here. Something so powerfull that even the most deadly of yokai are taken out without a single blow. And it only wants one thing. Kagome.
1. Default Chapter

Prologue  
Cold Chill  
  
Darkness enveloped the lands, the stars being consumed, the moon  
vanishing, even as the sun set farther into the distance to bring warmth  
to the other side of the earth. A cold chill overcame every being that  
moved, every life form that breathed in that utter darkness.  
No one was spared the cold reality, no one was overlooked.  
It was as if death itself had gripped each person, each creature, and  
locked them in its grasp.  
Fires were lit for warmth, but an icy wind easily took out each  
individual light, taking with it every last spark of hope that may still  
be left in the eyes of those condemned to the frozen, barren reminder of  
fatality.  
A tall man walked, seemingly unaffected by the overwhelming chill that  
reached to him.  
"My lord...I cannot...keep...up..." a croaky voice said from behind him.  
The tall man paid no heed to the voice that seemed as if it were falling  
into the distance and forever abandoning him. He did not care if the  
voice forever disappeared, he waited for no one.  
A small whimper of silence broke the silence that filled his mind, the  
quiet that rang in his ears. He looked over his shoulder and froze.  
A small dark-haired girl sat huddled on the ground. Her entire small  
figure was being overcome with violent shivers and shudders. Her lips  
were tinged blue, as were her fingers. Her eyes were half closed, the  
spark in them fading quickly.  
A sound of fear erupted from his throat as he turned to her and kneeled  
at her side. He put a hand to her face, the touch gentle, to find how  
cold her cheeks were. He picked her up and pulled her to him, panic  
overcoming him as he realized how cold it was for a human. And she  
wasn't even wearing any warm clothes. He wrapped his tail around her in  
an effort to keep her warm, and pulled her into the shelter of his large  
frame.  
The breeze picked up, a ghostly sound following it. The wind began to  
beat at his still form, and being still, the cold began to get to even  
him.  
The girl in his arms became less and less aware of what was happening,  
her body failing to continue its attempt to keep her warm.  
"Sess...shou...m..." Silence followed.  
The man looked down to find her eyes closed, her breath coming short and  
rare.  
Terror picked up in him, "Stay with me, Rin. Do not leave me all alone."  
He said, a catch in his voice, desperation plain to even the deafest  
human ear. "Do not leave me."  
  
A small group sat huddled together around the remains of their fire.  
No one really knew what was happening, least of all a dark-haired girl in  
strange clothing. She simply watched as the others began to shiver,  
unable to aid them in any way. She had already handed out blankets, but  
the heavy material didn't seem to help at all.  
"I don't understand, what is wrong?" she asked, worry evident in her  
voice.  
"D-don't you f-feel it?" a dark-haired woman asked. She was shivering  
despite the fact that a dark-haired man had wrapped his arms around her  
in an effort to help her.  
"Feel what?" she asked, confused at the reaction of everyone else in the  
group.  
"It's f-f-freezing!" The woman shouted, her voice hoarse, a shiver  
echoing through it.  
The girl knew it to be so, but wasn't really affected. She attempted to  
spark the fire once more, though the matches she lit all seemed to be  
bright and warm, the wood she attempted to light never heated up, never  
caught fire.  
She burned her fingers three times in attempting to do so, and she used  
every last match that she had left. She found tears falling down her  
cheeks at her inability to help her friends. She looked up and found, to  
her horror, that the dark-haired couple lay there together, motionless.  
"Sango? Miroku?" she whispered their names in fear. She feared that  
they would never wake from the death-like sleep that seemed to have  
overcome the both of them.  
She turned to the littlest in the group. He too was frozen. He too was  
motionless. Gently, she placed him with the other two in hopes that that  
might help all, or any of them, get warm.  
She turned to see the strongest, and most stubborn, of their group.  
"Kagome..." escaped his lips.  
Kagome stood in fear as she saw him. His hair was somewhere between the  
silver yokai and the black human form. His eyes were a mix of yellow and  
black, a tint of red in their depths.  
"It is not a full moon, you are not supposed to be in human form...you are  
yokai tonight," she said, her hand at her mouth, the hot tears streaming  
down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do, didn't know if she could do  
anything at all.  
His eyes dimmed and his breathing slowed.  
"Inu-yasha..." Kagome said, going to his side, fear in her big brown eyes.  
She reached to take his hand, but at the moment they were to touch, hers  
simply went right through, their skin never meeting.  
Stark terror filled her as she continued to try to touch him, and she  
continued to fail.  
"Kagome..." he repeated, finding it hard to keep his eyes open, the bitter  
wind stinging them.  
She put her hand to his cheek in an effort to comfort him, though she  
could not touch him.  
"Be safe...Kagome..." he muttered simply, placing his hand to her cheek,  
though he could not touch her either.  
"I will, I promise, Inu-yasha." She said, her voice filled with earnest.  
His eyes closed, his hand fell.  
Kagome was left alone. 


	2. The Voice

The Voice  
  
Kagome reached to place her other hand to his other cheek but there was a great rumbling from the earth beneath her feet as the ground shifted and heaved. She found herself falling away, being pulled from behind. A sound of fright escaped her as Inu-Yasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou disappeared from sight.  
  
She began to run towards them as fast as she could, but it seemed that the faster she ran the faster she was taken away. Tears were streaming down her face as she ran with all her might.  
  
She tripped and fell onto her stomach, the whole world rolling away from her as she lay there, unable to stop it. She put her head to the ground and cried.  
  
Minutes passed but it seemed like hours of laying there powerless against what was happening to her.  
  
Gentle hands were at her shoulders, pulling her away from the dirt that collected her tears. She pulled away and bolted upright, looking for a monster that was attacking her. But she found none. What she saw made her blink.  
  
It was a boy with black hair and ice blue eyes. He wore dark blue shirt and black pants, the style very close to the clothes Inu-Yasha wore. His expression was concerned, his movements were slow as if he didn't want to frighten her by being too quick.  
  
"Who are you?" she demanded, keeping away from him.  
  
He smiled slightly, "I'm Jareth. Do you know what happened? All my friends got cold all of a sudden and then the ground just pulled me away. Next thing I know I'm standing here and you were laying there crying." He explained. "I don't get it at all."  
  
Kagome stood to find that she was almost as tall as him, funny, she thought, he seemed a lot taller. But she supposed it was because he was standing and she had been sitting, though...he had actually been kneeling hadn't he? "I'm Kagome." She said, ignoring the fact that he had not really asked for her name. "I don't know what happened either. My friends got cold too, and I couldn't touch them. I was so scared." She still was but she wasn't going to tell this stranger that.  
  
She looked around for the first time to find nothing. The where nowhere. There were no trees, no rocks. When she looked at the ground the dirt was gone and when she looked up she couldn't see the sky. The entire place was just a ball of light. And she and this Jareth were in the middle of it, as if it were being emitted from them.  
  
"It's really...bright here." She stated simply, not that he really needed to know, he had been here as long as she. Probably longer. And he had been looking about before she had.  
  
"Yeah, it's really weird. It wasn't this bright until you came though." He stated looking up into nothing.  
  
Kagome blinked, "Hmm..." she thought about all the demons she had ever met or encountered. She couldn't find one that was powerful enough to do what she had just witnessed. Her mind went back to Inu-Yasha and she couldn't help but tear up. He had been so helpless. That was the first and only time she had ever seen him, and it was probably the only time that she ever would.  
  
Jareth made a move to comfort her but was interrupted by a booming voice that shook the ground that wasn't there.  
  
"You two have been brought here by me to see if this pathetic world is worth the effort of keeping around." The loud voice rang.  
  
Kagome looked for it but found no sign of where it was coming from, "Why us? And what did you do to everyone else? Did you kill them?" she asked fearfully.  
  
"No, they are asleep. I picked the two of you because neither of you are really who you claim to be." The voice answered deafeningly.  
  
Kagome's brow furrowed at that statement. Weren't they? She knew that she was just a girl, nothing special. How could she not be?  
  
"What do we get if we pass this test?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Nothing." Both people blinked at that statement. "You will be put back with your friends and not even remember this took place." Kagome let out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding.  
  
"And if we fail?" Jareth asked though he didn't really want to know.  
  
"Then what you love most will die in your arms just out of your reach." Kagome gasped. That was too much to put on one person. "The world that you know will simply fade away and you will be left alone. Even the two of you will not be able to find each other."  
  
Jareth looked down, as if thinking over his options. As if he had options. He looked back up to wherever the voice was coming from, "I will do it. What choice do I have." He said with a shrug. This wasn't something he could even try to get out of. It was either this or painful isolation. He hated isolation. He had been in it for nearly his whole life. He didn't know about this girl, but he was happy that he did have someone to do something so important as this with. He knew that if he had been alone again he would have failed quickly, no matter what the task was.  
  
"What is it that we are to do?" Kagome asked, determination on her face. She would not fail. She could not. She couldn't watch Inu-Yasha go like that. She wouldn't give up without a fight. She would hang on for everyone she knew. But she would win for him. 


	3. The Willow

The Willow  
  
Kagome stood next to the stranger, determined to pass any test that lay ahead of her with flying colors. At least if it meant that she could go back to her friends...and touch Inu-Yasha again...  
  
"Your tasks are fairly simple," the voice rang out.  
  
"Wait, 'tasks', as in more than one?" Jareth asked.  
  
"You do not expect me to base the sole survival of an entire world on two children performing a single task, do you?" the voice demanded.  
  
Kagome's brow furrowed at that. The voice had been so somber and serious before. Right now it seemed to be sarcastic. Almost as if it thought that was the most stupid question anyone could ever think to ask him.  
  
"Well...I guess not..." Jareth answered reasonably.  
  
"For the first task, you must" the voice began once more but Jareth cut it off again,  
  
"So how many tasks will there be? Five? Ten? How many?" Jareth asked curiously.  
  
"Would you let him finish?" Kagome asked, a little annoyed with him. Here was this powerful being that wanted to inform them of the tasks that they would be doing to save the world and Jareth couldn't stop interrupting it with his stupid questions!  
  
"Oh, sorry...I didn't really...I mean...I'll shut-up now."  
  
"Thank you." The voice said. "For the first task," it left a pause there just in case Jareth had more to say, but none came. "Good, for the first task is that the two of you must find the Scroll of Futility." The voice said simply.  
  
"Futility?" Jareth repeated, "Sounds important."  
  
Kagome looked over at him, "Do you know what futility is?" she asked.  
  
He looked at her a blank expression on his face, "Err...no, not really. But it sounds important." He added with a shrug.  
  
Kagome sighed, this would be harder than she had first thought it would be. Much, much harder. She looked back up, "And where can we find this 'important' scroll?" she asked the voice.  
  
"In the forest." The voice answered.  
  
"That's it? Just the forest? Not the Forest of Incompetence? Not the Forest of Power? Everything has a name. Even the scroll. So obviously the forest must have a name." She said with a shrug. "It's in people's nature to name everything they come across."  
  
Jareth stared at her, "No it's not." He said simply. Kagome ignored him.  
  
"Who ever said that people have ever been to this forest?" the voice asked.  
  
"Well, nobody, but..." Kagome never got to finish her sentence. Instead the light grew so bright she was forced to shut her eyes to keep from going blind.  
  
When she opened them again they were in a dark forest surrounded by trees. There were sounds of animals and the swish of the wind as it rustled the leaves of every tree nearby.  
  
Kagome went to a tree and touched it. Her skin came in contact with the rough bark. She looked up to see that the leaves of the tree were a golden white color. She had never seen such a tree before. The ground looked normal, the trunks the same, but the leaves proved that this was not a place that she was likely to see again. It made her wish she had her camera. She turned to see Jareth standing on a huge blue boulder. "What are you doing?" she asked walking over to him.  
  
"I'm trying to find anything that looks different." He answered.  
  
"What do you mean something that looks different? This entire place is different!" she said. "No, I mean different for here. They're not going to have a scroll just laying about, it's gonna be hidden or something. But if we're supposed to be able to find it at all, it's gotta be somewhere that stands out." He answered.  
  
Kagome cocked her head, he seemed all business, all serious, and all...brain. Whereas a few moments ago he had been rather stupid. "Who are you?" she asked again, more to herself than to him.  
  
"I told you, I'm Jareth. Here, I'll help you up," he answered holding out a hand.  
  
Kagome took it but immediately let go as a shock went through her. "Ouch!" she exclaimed in surprise, holding her hand close to her body.  
  
Jareth jumped down, "Lemme see," he said, gently taking her wrist and pulling it out so he could see her hand.  
  
She opened her hand to see a black mark on her palm where they had touched.  
  
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that...heck I didn't even know I could." He said.  
  
"It's fine, it doesn't hurt anymore. But how come it happened at all? I mean, it's not happening now..." Kagome trailed off as he brushed the mark with his fingers. It was still hot.  
  
"I really am sorry. I'll try not to do it again." He said, silently cursing himself.  
  
"No, really, it's fine. It just startled me." Kagome said, "That's all..." she pulled her hand away from him and climbed up on the boulder herself, "Besides, I can help myself up." She said with a smile, trying to make him feel better.  
  
His brow was still furrowed, his face unsure, but he climbed up to stand next to her. He watched her face as she scanned the area for anything that didn't seem to fit. Anything that seemed out of place.  
  
"Look," she said, pointing out in the direction opposite where he had been looking earlier.  
  
He looked. There was a tall weeping willow, but it's leaves were normal, a deep green in color. It was surrounded by trees with pink and purple and white and gold leaves. It didn't look at all like it belonged in a forest like this. It was a normal tree in an enchanted forest where faeries should live, not people or demons.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's where we're headed then." He said.  
  
Kagome jumped down, "Well come on, I can't do this without you."  
  
Jareth stayed a moment longer on the rock. This all seemed much too easy, even if it was their first task. He jumped down next to her but kept alert, watching for any surprises that might be waiting for them.  
  
They walked in the direction of the tree for what seemed to be hours.  
  
"You'd think we'd be there by now," Kagome said. She was getting kind of tired.  
  
"Yeah, you'd think." He said. Then he froze in his tracks.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Kagome asked him.  
  
He pointed ahead of them, "That's where we started." He said.  
  
Kagome looked and sure enough, just ahead of them was that blue boulder they had climbed up on. She ran to it and climbed it quickly. She looked for the willow but couldn't see it. She turned around, "There it is!" she said, pointing in the direction they had just come from. "But...that doesn't make any sense." She shook her head, "We didn't pass it did we?" she asked, looking down at Jareth.  
  
"I didn't see it. Maybe we took a detour somewhere and went around it." Jareth suggested.  
  
Kagome looked back up to the tree, but it wasn't there. She looked about to find that it was on her right. "Oh no!"  
  
"What?" Jareth asked worriedly.  
  
"The tree moves!" Kagome wailed.  
  
"What?" he said climbing up.  
  
"Every time we look somewhere else it's in a different spot!" Kagome explained to him. She found the tree again and pointed it out to him, "See?" she asked.  
  
"This is going to take a while. A very, very long while." He breathed. 


	4. The Test

The Test  
  
His eyes flickered open and he found that he was engulfed in a circle of blinding light. He scrunched his eyes closed again as the light hurt them and they began to water. He pushed himself to his feet and timidly opened his eyes. This time the light didn't hurt so much. So he looked around, searching the ball of light for a sign of anything. But there seemed to be nothing but the light and himself. Then he remembered what had happened what seemed to be seconds before.  
  
"Kagome!" he shouted. But there was still nothing other than himself in the ball of light.  
  
"Stop talking." A loud booming voice said to him from the light.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked about, but there was no body that went with the voice. "Who are you?" he asked angrily, "what have you done with Kagome?"  
  
"You are pathetic. You are a weakling that refuses to see himself as such. Kagome deserves better than you. Leave her alone. She is mine now." The voice rang out.  
  
"I won't let you take her!" Inu-Yasha called towards the loudest point.  
  
"Let me?" the voice asked. The center of the light seemed to brighten as a man appeared in its midst. He had long dark blue-gray hair that was pulled back at the nape of his neck, and flashing blue eyes, he wore long white robes and held a long silver staff. He took long determined strides towards Inu-Yasha to reveal that he was much taller than the half-human boy. "How on earth are you planning on stopping me?" the man demanded with a smirk.  
  
"Any way possible!" Inu-Yasha snarled grabbing for Tetsusaiga. But the sword wouldn't come from its resting place. Inu-Yasha fumbled with it for a few minutes before giving up and going to tackle the man.  
  
The man raised an eyebrow as Inu-Yasha came at him. He sighed and tapped his silver staff to the ground. The ground beneath him crumbled away into blackness. Inu-Yasha gave a shout as the solid light beneath his feat gave way to the emptiness. He managed to turn and grab hold of the remaining light before he fell too far. He managed to pull himself up but was dismayed to find that this small light was completely surrounded by empty black nothing. He gave a start when he realized that he was face to face with the man, who was standing above the emptiness.  
  
"That was very convincing, Inu-Yasha. You really did prove your strength and intelligence." The man said, his face emotionless.  
  
Inu-Yasha sneered, "Who are you? What do you want with Kagome?" he demanded.  
  
"I am what you see around you, I am what is beyond your sight. I am everything you have ever seen and everything you have ever looked past." The man stated simply.  
  
"Well, mister everything, do you have a name?" Inu-Yasha sneered, he hated smart-asses.  
  
"I have many names. I am nameless. Call me what you like, I do not really care." The man answered.  
  
"Real helpful, now what do you want with Kagome?" Inu-Yasha could have hit the man, but he didn't want the only ground he had to cave away and decided to save his fury for another time and place.  
  
The man looked down at Inu-Yasha and sneered, "I do not wish something 'with Kagome'. That is what you want. You are merely using her to find this Shikon-no-Tama. You don't really care for her. Oh no, I want nothing with Kagome. I simply want Kagome."  
  
"How the heck do you even know her?" Inu-Yasha demanded. He didn't really only want to use Kagome...did he? No, that was not why he protected her, not why he wanted her with him, by his side. "I know that you abuse her feelings. That she really does care for you yet you push her away. You don't love her. You don't even care for her. And you never will. So, I'm here to take her from you. To love her as she deserves to be loved. And I am going to keep you away from her."  
  
"You will never keep me away from her!" Inu-Yasha shouted.  
  
"Yes, I know that you are indeed very stupid and stubborn. But do you really care for her as more than just a Shikon shard seeker?" the man asked.  
  
Inu-Yasha took a step back and nearly fell off the edge but he managed to stay on without making it obvious that he almost walked off a cliff. He did care for her, didn't he? Every time she was in trouble he came to her rescue. He admitted that at first it was because he needed her to find the shards, but now it seemed different. He wanted her safe and away from danger. He could recall a few times when he thought he had lost her. It had scared him nearly to death himself. He didn't want her dead, he didn't want her gone. Sure they got into a million fights, but that was just his nature clashing with hers. He knew better than to assume it was because he didn't like her. And he knew better than to assume that she did not return his feelings. He knew he felt deeply for her, didn't he? It would be simple for him to walk away, to leave her with this man and never look back. He was capable of finding the Shikon shards without her help. Probably faster and easier too, without having to worry about her health and safety. He would need less time to stop and rest and he could fight easier without having to worry if she was being attacked or if she would get in the way. And there would be far less "Oshiwari"s said.  
  
But was that what he wanted? Did he truly want to leave her here for the simple fact that his travels and endeavors would be easier to manage? Would he truly be all right without her? Would he truly be happy?  
  
No. He would be miserable. And he would never live it down. No, he could not leave her here with this dominating monster.  
  
He glared up at the man that was threatening both him and Kagome, "Yes. Kagome is much more than a simple Shikon shard seeker to me. She's a friend. And very possibly more than even that." He snapped aggressively at the man.  
  
"Are you willing to put what you just said to the test?" the man asked, uncaring that Inu-Yasha seemed to believe that his feelings for Kagome were indeed much more than he had expected.  
  
"Absolutely." Inu-Yasha said without a second thought.  
  
"Then take your pick, Kagome or this."  
  
Inu-Yasha's eyes widened as the man held up a full and intact Shikon-no- Tama. 


	5. The Task

The Task  
  
Kagome and Jareth stood atop the boulder, trying to figure out how on earth the tree worked. It seemed far too confusing for Kagome to keep her focus on something that seemed so...well...futile!  
  
Every time she looked away the stupid tree jumped to another spot. She wanted to scream! How on earth was one going to get to a tree that didn't stay put? They had tried for a few hours to simply split up and roam the area, but to no avail. It seemed almost as if the tree really didn't exist and they were both simply imagining it. That would be a bad thing though, because that would mean they had wasted so much time in search of something that didn't exist.  
  
She sighed and jumped down to get a bite to eat, all this work made her hungry. She grabbed a simple snack then climbed back onto the boulder, holding the package in her mouth. She straightened and the package dropped, her eyes wide.  
  
The tree had stayed put! It hadn't moved! She looked at Jareth, he was staring intently at the tree, pondering its mechanisms.  
  
"That's it!" she shouted victoriously, jumping off the rock.  
  
"What's it?" Jareth asked starting to climb down.  
  
"No, I'll be right back, you just stay up there and keep thinking about that tree." She said, "Where is it?" she asked.  
  
Jareth looked up, "Right there," he said pointing out the direction of the tree.  
  
Kagome ran off in the direction he had pointed. She hoped that whatever he had done he would do it again. If he did then she could easily reach the tree before it jumped anywhere...hopefully.  
  
She made her way through the forest as quickly as she could, trying to keep as straight a line as she could.  
  
She could see a clearing just that be it? Could they have really missed the tree and its clearing? Well, if the tree moved then why couldn't its immediate surroundings?  
  
Just as she made it into the clearing she tripped and fell to the ground, stretching her arms out in front of her. She fell to her knees, but the damage had been done. She had sprained her wrist. Her left wrist? But she had landed more on her right.  
  
She held her right hand up to see the black mark in the middle of her palm. A moment ago it had still been hot from the shock she had received when she had taken Jareth's hand. But now...now it was ice cold. She shook off the tingling sensation she had felt...almost like she was going to faint. And over what? A simple sprained wrist and a cold hand.  
  
She shook her head and looked at her surroundings. She was in a clearing that was a circle twenty feet in diameter, and in the very middle was the old willow, its branches blowing as a slight breeze picked up. She shivered and rubbed her hand but stopped when it hurt her wrist. She sighed and gave a shrug before moving ahead towards the tree. She reached the tree and touched the bark. But, as it did with Inu-Yasha, her hand merely slipped through the bark.  
  
She pulled her hand away as if she had been burned by the bark. Her eyes were wide as she simply stared at the tree for a moment. Maybe she couldn't correctly complete this task. Maybe she was supposed to let Jareth come here rather than herself.  
  
She turned to go back but froze in her tracks as she saw nothing. The forest had simply vanished. Now this tree was the only tree for as far as Kagome could see.  
  
She could have cried, but this was not a crying moment. She took a deep breath to calm herself and turned back to the tree. She reached out once more, her hand yet again going straight through the tree. Curiously, and seeing as how it really couldn't be all that harmful to try anything, she stepped into the tree. As she had expected, she merely fell into the tree, only her body really did fall into it, as if the world just outside no longer existed.  
  
She gasped as she found herself in a world of total icy darkness.  
  
Then she saw them.  
  
Three stands stood, slightly illuminated.  
  
She took a step forward to see that on each stand were three scrolls. But the voice had only said that she needed one scroll. Suddenly she felt like Indiana Jones searching for that cup. She went all the way over to the stands.  
  
On one stand she recognized a language that seemed to look like what she expected to be English, on another was the familiar Japanese, and on the final one was in the somewhat familiar Chinese...Most could get the latter two mixed up, except, of course, the people that belong in that category as well. So she turned back to the English one. She understood more Chinese than English, though it should be the other way since English was the closest thing there was to a universal language.  
  
She then looked at the three English scrolls. One was ridiculously long, another ludicrously short, and the third seemed to be the exact length that a scroll should be. Well, that one couldn't be it. She looked at the long one, well...some things took time to learn. So it had to be the short one...didn't it?  
  
She grabbed it...the ground didn't shake like in Indiana Jones...but that was good, wasn't it?  
  
She made to go back through the tree but the walls seemed solid. She looked for an opening but couldn't find any, the whole while it was getting colder and colder.  
  
She realized that she had gone through the tree because it didn't exist in the other place, not wholly anyways. But now that she was there she could touch it and it was real. And it surrounded her. That was the only explanation she could think of, and for some reason, it did seem probable for this kind of a task.  
  
So she sat down and leaned her back against the inside trunk of the tree. No wonder the tree was normal, it was hollow. Surely the other trees weren't hollow. There had to be something in the center of those trees that affected their outward appearance.  
  
She didn't feel like thinking too much more about it though, because she was starting to shiver with the increasing chill in the area. So she just sat there, rubbing her arms, her teeth chattering.  
  
Her eyes began to drift closed, her hands slowing on her arms. It was too cold. Much too cold.  
  
Something snaked about her waist and grabbed her, pulling her backwards. She tried to scream but it just didn't come out.  
  
She fell onto her back and just laid there, waiting for something to happen. But nothing came. So she opened the eyes she hadn't realized she had closed.  
  
She found herself looking into clear blue eyes. It took her a moment to realize they were Jareth's.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.  
  
She smiled, her body was still so cold that she couldn't answer, but he took the smile as an answer. He brought her up into a sitting position.  
  
"You're so cold!" he remarked, but it was warm outside so he hoped that she would warm up.  
  
He waited for several minutes that seemed like hours but she merely got colder.  
  
He glanced down into her open hand to see the black mark had gone almost completely ice blue. He reached down and pulled her hand into his.  
  
Another shock went through her, heating up her entire body.  
  
She bolted upright, "You did it again!" she said.  
  
"Sorry!" he said immediately.  
  
She shook her head, "I think we have to go back to the boulder." She said.  
  
"Nope, just right there." He said pointing to their left.  
  
She looked over and was surprised to see a big ball of light just sitting there. Apparently she had chosen right.  
  
Hopefully... 


	6. The Partnership

The Partnership

"That was the wrong choice, Inu-Yasha. Very wrong." The man stated, anger covering his face. He faded back into the light, "Now, you will play on my terms."

The Shikon-no-Tama stayed where he had offered it, shattering before Inu-Yasha once more and shooting in every direction possible. One piece flew straight into Inu-Yasha's chest, forcing him to take a step back and put a finger to the wound that blood trickled from.

"Just remember that in my world, everything is backwards. You will be following in Kagome's footsteps. She has already completed the first task, and now you must go through it. If you manage to catch up, then you must convince her that you are who you say you are because to her you will not appear as you should." The bright light brightened.

"What the hell?" Inu-Yasha shouted as the ground seemed to fall away from his feet.

"Oh, and by the way, Kagome is alone with a boy named Jareth. I predict that by the end of this, neither of you will be friends." The voice mocked as Inu-Yasha fell forwards into the light.

He landed hard on his face in the dirt, knocking the wind out of him. With a growl he straightened and looked up.

His mouth dropped open.

Standing above him was a tall fair-haired yokai with a straight face and a glint in his golden eyes.

Inu-Yasha shot to his feet and glared at the taller demon, "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded furiously.

"I am here to complete these 'tasks'." The full demon informed his half-brother.

"Damnit, Sesshoumaru! I don't need you here! You're just going to get in the way!" Inu-Yasha growled.

The taller man's eyes sparked, though there was no other indication of emotion on his face, "Do not think I am here for you." The words were simple, a fact that was obvious to all.

All but Inu-Yasha.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Inu-Yasha ordered.

Sesshoumaru raised his chin, "Do you believe that it was only your friends who suffered the climate and weather?" he asked, the words mocking, the tone emotionless.

"I do not need your help!" Inu-Yasha said angrily, "I can do this on my own!"

"Unfortunately that is not your choice, nor is it an option. Were you not informed of the tasks?" he asked as if Inu-Yasha were inferior.

"No." Inu-Yasha said, "well...kind of. He mentioned them, but he didn't actually say what they were. But how would you know? You were here at the same time as me and he couldn't have been talking to the both of us at the same time."

"Couldn't he?" Sesshoumaru asked, "I believe this being is much more powerful than you realize." He turned away, as if the subject bored him, "And he seems fairly interested in that human of yours."

Inu-Yasha snarled, "How the hell would you know?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes went back to meet those of his half-brother, "He told me that she was the prize that you were to win, the jewel that you wish to steal from him. He also seemed very unsupportive of the relationship that you are trying to accomplish with that human."

Inu-Yasha glared at his half brother, "Don't say that as if it was the most sickening thing in the world." He said angrily.

"It is," his brother's voice said simply, without thought. Mating with a human was the most ridiculous thing for a demon to do, even a half-demon.

"Remind me who you're here for again?" Inu-Yasha said, looking to the sky with his finger at his chin, "Cuz' I know it ain't Jaken."

Sesshoumaru's eyes became slits, "Let's get this task over with," he hissed.

Inu-Yasha smiled at his power to get to his brother. He watched as the older demon hopped onto a huge boulder easily. He found himself following, filled with curiosity.

Sesshoumaru pointed a sharp fingernail at a strangely normal willow tree, "That is where we must go to find what we are looking for." He stated simply.

"And just what are we looking for?" Inu-Yasha asked skeptically.

"A Scroll of Inevitability." Sesshoumaru answered.

"What is that?" Inu-Yasha asked, the damn scroll sounded stupid.

"It's a riddle. We are to discover this scroll and bring it back to the voice." Sesshoumaru replied, annoyed with his brother's ignorance.

Inu-Yasha wanted to shout at his brother, wanted to strangle him, but if his words were true then in the end he would need him. And unfortunately he would probably need him alive. "This is only a temporary alliance." Inu-Yasha stated callously.

Sesshoumaru turned to the silver-haired boy at his side. He had always thought the younger demon incompetent, but now he knew something that he had never seen before. He saw something that only three had seen before. And those three were all human women. Perhaps this was not a good idea after all.

He turned back to the tree, no, he had to save the human girl that he had had to leave behind. She was dieing, he knew it. Even though that voice had stated that no deaths would come unless Kagome and her Jareth lost, he knew that he was losing the one person, the only friend, that he had ever really allowed himself to get close to. No, he had to do this, for her.

He bunched his strength and leapt towards the tree, he would fly the whole way there with the single leap.


	7. The Beast

The Beast

Kagome stood beside Jareth, unsure of what they were to do next.

They were in the middle of what seemed to be a huge palace, though no servants were around and no master could be seen. The place was dark and damp, almost as if it had been abandoned many years ago, though the stench of blood was still very heavy in the air.

"This task is more difficult than the first," the voice called out to the two who stood side by side, looking straight ahead. "You must find the owner of this castle, and you must restore the owner and the castle to the way it was before."

"Before what?" Jareth asked curiously.

There was a pause, "Before it became the way it is now." He said, as if Jareth were stupid.

"Like Beauty and the Beast?" Kagome asked, more to herself than to either the voice or Jareth.

"Exactly," the voice replied, sounding pleased, "You are the Beauty. Now go."

Kagome thought a moment, then shook her head, "I guess we should start looking for a beast."

Inu-yasha and Sesshoumaru stopped before the tree.

"What are we waiting for?" the younger half-brother demanded and raised his arm and punched the tree. To his surprise he fell right through!

He looked about to find himself in a room of sorts, inside the tree. There were three stands in the center. Two had three scrolls upon them, one had only two. Each had a word written upon them, one in English, one in Japanese, and one in Chinese.

"Inevitability," he said to himself, "A friggin Scroll of Inevitability."

He looked at the Japanese word. Ai. Love. He looked at the English word. Wealth. He looked at the last word. Chinese, he had never known much Chinese, but this word he knew in any language. Death.

Death was inevitable.

He stepped to the Chinese one and looked down at the three scrolls.

One had much to say, one had little, and the third had nothing. He wished he could read Chinese.

But what was inevitable? What happened when one died? Being a half-demon he had never really thought about his human weakness.

"When one dies…there is nothing."

He plucked up the empty scroll and went to the walls and attempted to walk through.

Instead he fell back on his butt.

"The hell?" he growled, standing once more.

In anger, he pulled out his tetsaiga and swung at the tree.

The wood gave way, falling from him.

Light flooded the dark place, burning his eyes. But there was the opening that lead back to Sesshoumaru and the forest.

Sesshoumaru was watching him with one raised eyebrow, "Your friend has been waiting for you." He said, motioning behind Inu-Yasha.

Inu-Yasha turned to see a great ball of flashing light, with the man standing before him.

"Death, Inu-yasha, is inevitable. Wealth is irrelevant. And Love, Inu-yasha, is irreplaceable." The man said. "An you are insufficient."

"What the hell does that mean?" Inu-yasha demanded, bristling.

The man looked to the sky, a smile on his face, "You're slow. Kagome has already completed the second task."

Inu-yasha bristled, "What the hell are you jabbering about? Get back to us, look, we have your friggin scroll, now send us to the next task!"

The man turned and glared at Inu-yasha, "Why won't you just give up?" he demanded, his voice venomous.

Kagome stood before the beast, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.

He was tall, with long silver hair and golden eyes.

"Sesshoumaru, what happened to you?" she asked, her voice a soft thread of sound.

Jareth was against the wall, a gash on his chest flowing with blood. Sesshoumaru had attacked him, had attacked her really, but Jareth had taken the blow.

"Your dog stole my love from me, he took her, he killed her. I shall do the same!" Sesshoumaru spat as he shot towards Kagome, his poisonous claws extended.

"No!" Jareth shouted, once again leaping to her rescue, but this time Sesshoumaru just threw him against the wall and glared at Kagome, his face inches from hers, his claws in her abdomen, spreading the poison.

"You will die, little woman. You will die as she did."

Kagome couldn't help but feel the pain in her stomach, in her entire body, "Sesshoumaru, you loved Rin, didn't you?" she asked, her voice soft.

"More than you could ever know, pitiful human." He sneered angrily.

"Kagome," Jareth whispered, his eyes wide.

"Then kill me, Sesshoumaru." Kagome said.

Both men stared at her, one confused, one determined.

"Kill me and ease your pain. But don't do it before her."

Sesshoumaru blinked and turned to see Rin's pretty face, smiling down at him. He stared at the portrait, it was from the day that they were wed. He looked below the picture to the little brown haired girl with big gold eyes, clinging to her teddy bear.

"Suki," he said, his voice a mere thread of sound. He pulled his claws from Kagome's body and went to the little girl, his daughter, Rin's daughter.

She wrapped her small arms as far around his waist as they could go as he pulled her into his embrace. He looked up at Kagome with tear-filled eyes, tears that he would never shed before another being.

Kagome smiled, weakly leaning back against a wall, "It's all right Sesshoumaru, to grieve. But is it alright to hurt the only one that you have left?" she asked, one hand at her wound.


End file.
